Hi list,
Been meaning to post this for awhile, but I have been incredibly busy.
Awhile back there was a discussion on hand rearing orphaned kits.  I wanted
to mention that on the Wildlife Rehabilitation mailing list I'm on, some
folks have soaked bread with formula and simply let tiny babies suck off
that.  It obviously has to be changed frequently to avoid problems from
bacterial growth, but it's probably less stressful for the babies (and the
folks raising them!) then trying to tube feed or bottle feed.
 
One rehabber said she had 100% success rate using this with newborn baby
mice, and if that's not a small thing to start with, I don't know what is!
So I think it would work with ferret kits too.
 
Someone posted the correct formula to use at the time (check the FML
archives), but in a pinch you can substitute an egg yolk (raw) with enough
milk (use Lactaid milk if you can get it, or add the lactose enzyme you can
get in the store or pharmacy) to make 4-6 ounces of formula.  I know some
of you are thinking 'what about salmonella from the raw egg?' Yes, it's an
issue, but if you are risking starvation as an alternative, I'd take the
chance.  I've never had a problem with using the formula, but since it's
being left out (and I have NOT done that), be sure to change it every
2-3hours and clean up the babies and bedding at the same time if they've
gotten it on themselves.
 
One technique you can use is to have two nest boxes, one clean and one just
used, and put the fresh formula into the clean one, and transfer each baby
in as soon as it's cleaned up.  When all the babies are in you can clean up
the other one and have it ready to use for the next round (just wait til
the end to put in the formula).  If there are several to raise, it's easier
to do that then try to keep track of which ones in a single box have been
cleaned and stimulated to defecate/urinate.  (To do that, stroke the
urogenital area with a warm moist cotten ball or swab if they are really
small.)
 
HTH,
 
Ilena Ayala
[Posted in FML issue 2703]